A FAMILY man and keen motorcyclist was killed when his bike was involved in a collision with a mobile crane.

David John Edwards, 36, died instantly when the accident happened in Bridge Lane at its junction with The Quay in Frodsham at about 6.25pm on Tuesday.

Mr Edwards, of Weaver Road, Frodsham, who leaves a wife and two young children, was travelling to work on his BMW bike when the tragedy happened.

A statement released by the family read: 'David will be missed by his wife Sandra and son Mark and daughter Samantha and all his friends and family.

'David enjoyed computers and spending time on his motorcycle but, most of all, he loved to spend time with his family and will leave a huge gap in their lives.'

Insp Mike McBride of Cheshire Constabulary said the accident involved a 64-ton crane and a motorcycle travelling in the direction of Runcorn.

He said: 'As a result of the collision, the motorcycle rider, a 36-year-old local man, received fatal injuries.

'The road was closed for several hours while police conducted an examination of the scene.'

Andrew Molyneux, a spokesman for Mersey Regional Ambulance Service, said Mr Edwards was dead at the scene and there was nothing paramedics could do. His body was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Developer CPUK says the crane had nothing to do with building work to create apartments and town houses on the site of the former Bridge Inn.

The death has been reported to Cheshire coroner Nicholas Rheinberg, but an inquest had not been opened at time of going to press.

Cheshire police are appealing for witnesses to call its road unit on 01606 48000.

Mr Edwards is the second Frodsham motorcyclist to be killed in a road accident within the space of a few months, as Christopher James Reilly, 39, of Ennerdale Drive, was in a collision with a Ford Fiesta at the junction of Latham Avenue and Primrose Lane in Helsby last September.

Tuesday night saw another accident in Frodsham in which a female car driver suffered serious leg injuries when her Chrysler Neon was involved in an accident with a Ford Escort van outside the Lady Heyes Craft Centre in Kingsley Road at about 6.30pm.

The 42-year-old driver was released by firefighters and taken by ambulance to the Countess of Chester Hospital suffering from a lower left leg fracture.